Small Business Traps to Avoid
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Terri's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
Small Business Traps to Avoid
Regardless of whether the "small business" is a one-man show or a small business with up to 10 employees, when starting out we tend to concentrate/focus on one or two areas of our business and either are unaware or just forget about the other areas. There are certain mistakes that are common to many entrepreneurs and small business owners – being aware of them is the first step to avoiding them!
Sales & Marketing – You need a Sales plan. It will assist you to gauge the financial progress of your business and provide information like where your sales will come from, how they'll be achieved and who your buyers/customers are. And marketing your business is not merely a matter of placing an Ad in your local paper! You need a marketing plan to ensure you spend your marketing and advertising dollars wisely. You should know who your customers are and where to find them. Do your research and don’t skimp on this detail! Getting expert advice is money well spent!
Your Customers – You don't only need to know who your customers are for marketing purposes, you need to keep up with who your customers are and keep in touch with them for continued business success. Have their needs or preferences changed? Are your competitors' products meeting their needs better? What do your customers want and are you still providing that? What will they be likely to want in the future, and are you prepared for that?
Great Ideas – We all have great ideas but it is important not to put all your eggs in the one basket – especially if that basket has holes in it. Don't get stuck on one idea – if it isn't working, think about it for sure, just don’t invest all your time and money on it until it is "fool proof". Try lots of different ideas to find out which ones are the most successful and will increase your business and wealth. Sometimes, a great idea is just that... a great idea... but in the "real world" it may not be practical or profitable. Realize there is a big difference between the possibility of an idea/action producing X results, and the reality of it... If you're fabulously wealthy and can afford a few mistakes financially, then that's different...
Money – New business owners can become gung-ho and invest crazily in everything to establish their business as quickly as possible, forgetting that it takes time to establish a business and customer database, and meanwhile, having spent all their money, they have nothing to sustain them during the quiet days ahead.
Always keep something in reserve to sustain your business until it is strong enough to sustain itself!
Employees – If you have employees, don't take them for granted or overlook their needs just because your focus is on your business growth. Happy employees can make a business. Motivate them, encourage them, and reward them when you can. Ensure they know your products and business back to front so they can provide exceptional customer service!
Finally, quitting when the going gets tough... you don't need me to list all the famously successful people (like Walt Disney, to name one) who failed spectacularly several times before hitting the big time and being a huge success. If you quit, your business will never be a success – it won't have the chance. Give your business every chance. Treat failures as lessons – not reasons to quit. To paraphrase Einstein, all your mistakes are not failures – they are simply new ways you have learned not to do things. If you really think you should quit, get sound business advice first – there may be ways of salvaging and improving your business that you just don’t know about, and if the opposite is true, then it is important you find this out too… no point wasting your time, effort and money on whipping a dead horse! It may also be possible to "change" your business – move it into an area in which you can be successful.
Author info:
Terri Levine MCC, PCC, MS, CCC-SLP is CEO of Comprehensive Coaching U, a Master Certified Coach, Public Speaker, and Author of "Stop Managing, Start Coaching", "Work Yourself Happy", "Coaching for an Extraordinary Life", and "Create Your Ideal Body. To learn more about Coaching and related programs, or to sign up for Terri's newsletter, please visit http://www.terrilevine.com or call: 877-401-6165. You can also contact Terri via website here: http://www.TerriLevine.com/contact-me.htm
Small Business Traps to Avoid - To learn more about this author, visit Terri Levine's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
